Work Opportunity Tax Credit in Georgia - $1,200 to $9,600 a hire, currently in a lapse

Georgia Department of Labor

Not open right now. Opens: Reopens on Congressional reauthorisation. For this one the opening date is what matters, not the close - check back before then.

The federal credit for hiring from targeted groups - veterans, people leaving TANF or SNAP, people recently released from prison, vocational rehabilitation referrals, summer youth, the long-term unemployed - worth between $1,200 and $9,600 per employee depending on the group and hours worked. There is no limit on the number of qualifying hires. The Georgia Department of Labor is the state agency that certifies eligibility.

The catch: The credit's legal authority expired on 31 December 2025 and Georgia is explicit about what that means: it will accept, date-stamp, log and retain certification requests for hires starting on or after 1 January 2026, and it "will not release certification request determinations" until Congress reauthorises. So the correct move for an employer is counter-intuitive - file anyway, within the 28 calendar days of the start date that the rules still require, and expect no answer - because a late filing cannot be rescued if reauthorisation turns out to be retroactive. The employee must also work at least 120 hours in the first year, and rehires and relatives never qualify.

Who can get it

  • The new employee must work at least 120 hours during the first year of employment and must not have worked previously for the employer. Forms 8850 and 9061 must be submitted within 28 calendar days of the start date. Rehires and relatives never qualify. must meet

When it is open

  • Authority lapsed 31 December 2025
    Reopens on Congressional reauthorisation
    Legislative authority for all WOTC targeted groups expired on 31 December 2025. Georgia continues to accept and retain certification requests for start dates on or after 1 January 2026 within the 28-day rule, and will not release determinations until Congress reauthorises the credit. File within 28 days regardless; a missed filing cannot be rescued if reauthorisation is retroactive.

At a glance

Worth
$9,600
Effort
About 30 minutes
Time to money
Not recorded
How it arrives
Account credit
How often
Standing
Proof needed
Identification
Where
Georgia
Last checked
16 August 2026
No cap on qualifying hires. The constraint is authorisation, not funding.